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LAWRENCE — Kansas State coach Bruce Weber played close attention to the game tape of San Diego State’s victory at Kansas, searching for some secrets that might help his team pull a similar upset.

The Wildcats, after all, had reeled off 10 straight victories on the strength of their defense, rebounding and efficient offense led by freshman Marcus Foster.

None of those areas of strength were evident as No. 25 K-State endured another beat down at the hands of the No. 18 Jayhawks, 86-60 on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse.

“San Diego State did a great job, and they probably have a little more length than us,” Weber said. “We tried to take away something, and you’ve got to give them something, and they made shots. That’s the best I’ve seen (Andrew) Wiggins shoot the basketball, and (Wayne) Selden has played really well the last few games. They get you spread out, and then they get you inside.

“They didn’t shoot it like that against San Diego State. San Diego State is really good defensively. I thought we were pretty good, but we don’t have the same length they have, and they block shots, and maybe they got to shooters better. Maybe they caught (KU) on a bad day and they played a good game.”

With the breakdowns on defense, K-State didn’t have the offensive firepower to hang close. The Wildcats (12-4, 2-1 Big 12) went nearly six minutes without a field goal midway through the first half as KU used an 18-3 run to open a 31-15 lead.

“We started OK, and that’s always your worry here,” Weber said, “but it was more when they had that second group in there that they kind of picked us apart and made shots. That’s where they got the margin, got some confidence, and got rolling, and we didn’t have any answers.”

The Jayhawks (11-4, 2-0) shot a sizzling 65.5 percent (19 of 29) without a single turnover to build a 45-28 halftime lead. They finished the game shooting 56 percent, going 8 of 18 on 3-pointers, with seven turnovers.

“We couldn’t get a stop,” Wildcats forward Thomas Gipson said. “We were playing hard in the beginning, and going back and forth, but down the stretch they made a couple of threes, and I felt like we let the crowd get to us, and we just froze.

“We just didn’t play hard enough. We knew it was going to be tough coming in here, and we just didn’t finish it.”

Weber said KU shot the ball so well — Wiggins and Selden were a combined 6-for-9 behind the 3-point line — that going zone wasn’t a viable option.

“During the win streak we’ve been up on the ball pressuring, and I didn’t think we did a good job of that,” he said. “We never disrupted them.

“I didn’t think we fought for things. We weren’t aggressive enough, and we let them move the ball freely. They executed their stuff to perfection, and when you have 14 assists and no turnovers (first half), that’s pretty good.”

The Wildcats were outrebounded by only a 33-25 margin — the first time in 12 games they lost the board battle — but it seemed worse with KU enjoying a second-half stretch dominating its offensive glass.

“They have height, length, athleticism and you let them get going and that happens,” Weber said. “It seemed like every time they did miss, they beat us to loose balls and beat us on our play-hard chart.

“For me, the only disappointing thing is we didn’t play as hard as I would have liked to and battled and fought.”

FOSTER FALTERS — KU’s defense rattled Foster, who for the first time this season played like a freshmen. Foster came in with a 14.1 scoring average but managed only seven points, getting his first two shots blocked and finishing 3 of 12 from the field.

“They’re good. They’re long and they stayed with him,” Weber said. “I don’t think we moved the ball, and instead of moving and cutting we kind of dribbled. That’s not us. We have to be more efficient.

“I didn’t think we were very efficient offensively. We kind of froze. They switched some things and stayed with ball screens, and we didn’t move the ball well enough. And when you get open shots you go 1 for 11 from three, and that’s not going to do it when they go 8 for 18.”

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I was shocked at the poor play of KSU and thought winning 12 games they would be much better. All they did 90% of the game was dribble on the perimeter and ended up taking bad shots. Gipson is a good player but with KU's length it was tough for him. Unless Weber can recruit 6'8" and above he won't last long at KSU. You can't have perimeter only players but need an inside game. They are again, woefully lacking.

One thing that noise usually doesn't affect is your defensive play. KU had no turnovers in the first half which was a complete surprise to me and could really do whatever they wanted offensively...I knew KSU would struggle offensively but I thought they would bring a tough physical defense with them. Rock chalk!

Was it also funny watching our lucky wide open shots, lucky second chance rebounds, lucky zero first half turnovers, lucky defense that absolutely shut KSU down, lucky shot blocking! Haha! What a lucky blowout! Wish we could spread those blowouts throughout the year against kstate. Oh wait, we usually do.....

On just the shots were lucky? Everything else skill? Haha, you're ridiculous!! What you saw yesterday was the definition of this "rivalry". Like I said earlier, KU could throw just about any team on James Naismith court when they play KSU and they would win. It's just what they do! It's hands down the most one sided "rivalry" in college basketball and probably any sport for that matter! Now, good thing is KSU actually has some experience and solid defense (I think) that can still make some noise in the Big12! Keep your head up, you still get another shot to take down big brother in Manhattan....ha

That would actually be TWICE IN A YEAR - EVERY YEAR game. Now give us all that .... blah, blah, blah HATE rhetoric and identify yourself as the real IDIOT that you are. Let's add SORE LOSER to your list of documented traits. Get off the sports page nutcase.